Patt Diroll: Helping LACO 'a la carte'

Capping their popular eastside-westside salon series, "LACO A La Carte," members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra braved the thunder-showers on Nov. 17 to perform in Pasadena.

Starting in October, the popular and very posh five-part fundraiser paired international cuisine with intimate performances in the private homes of the consuls general of the Czech Republic, Armenia and Austria, as well as Germany at the Pacific Palisades' historic Villa Aurora and China at Julia and Ken Gouw's beautiful Chapman Woods estate.

Each event, tickets $250, featured a different style of cuisine, complimented by music performed by LACO musicians and guest artists.

"LACO a la carte" was chaired by LACO board member Mahnaz Newman.

This season celebrates the milestone LACO anniversaries of Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, in her 15th year with the orchestra, and Assistant Concertmaster Tereza Stanislav, in her 10th anniversary with LACO.

In spite of the downpour, more than 100 guests turned out for "China la Carte," which was hosted by East West Bank and chaired by Senior Vice President Agnes Lew.

The Far Eastern-inspired evening featured LACO virtuosos Allan Vogel, Kenneth Munday, Roland Kato and Patricia Mabee performing works by Boismortier, Couperin and Bach, followed by a lavish buffet of Mandarin and Szechuan specialties created by Pasadena's Panda Inn.

The "LACO la carte" series, which raised $62,000 was sponsored by LACO president K. Eugene Shutler and board members Ann Moore Mulally, Mahnaz and David Newman; and Ned and Dana Newman.

LACO presents its Orchestral Series at Glendale's Alex Theatre and Royce Hall at UCLA, Baroque Conversations at Zipper Hall, Westside Connections a chamber music series at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, and an annual Discover concert at Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium. LACO also presents a Concert Gala, an annual Silent Film screening. Its programs, such as Meet the Music, Community Partners, Campus to Concert Hall and the LACO/USC Thornton Strings Mentorship Program, reach thousands of young people each year.

Kicking with The Links

Right, right, left, left, bounce, and walk it out ...

At last, I have conquered line-dancing.

Having flunked the time-step and waltz-clog in Meglin Kiddies dance school many moons ago, I held little hope of ever mastering hip hop. But I can proudly proclaim I have conquered - albeit with arthritic abandon - the Cupid Shuffle. Trouble is I only get a chance to do it once a year when members of The Links host their holiday bash.

Can these chicks boogie!

Following a hearty turkey dinner with all the trimmings and pumpkin chiffon pie for dessert, the dance floor was jammed on Dec. 2 for "Jingle and Mingle," the dance party hosted by the Pasadena-Altadena Chapter of The Links in partnership with the Pasadena–Altadena Community Endowment Fund.

Ashana Thorman and Dana Clark co-chaired the event, held for the second year at Noor Ballroom atop Pasadena's Paseo Colorado.

The annual affair benefits The Links community service projects including scholarships for local high school seniors and "Links Up for Success: Connecting through Mentoring," which establishes one-on-one relationships with high school students and their parents to promote academic achievement and to prepare students for college.

Founded in 1946, The Links, with 274 chapters in 42 states, is one of the largest philanthropic African-American organizations.

The Pasadena chapter, chartered in 1963, was one of the first community organizations to offer free SAT workshops and has awarded nearly $500,000 in college scholarships to students of African-American descent.